Jon Hope Becomes Microsoft MVP

Summary

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) is one of Microsoft’s highest community recognitions. It’s earned through sustained, visible, and impactful contributions to the Microsoft ecosystem through a demonstration of deep technical expertise and relentless community support. MVP status is awarded for one year only, and must be re-earned annually, based on ongoing contribution.

inforcer's, Jon Hope, M365 Solutions Architect, reflects on the week leading up to the day he was officially named a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional. 

Last Week Changed Everything

This past week has been nothing short of a dream come true. Life is coming at me fast from all sides and honestly, I'm here for every second of it.

Work has been incredible. I've had the privilege of working alongside some of the largest MSPs in the space, helping them adopt and advise on M365 best practices and understand how inforcer is quickly becoming the de facto standard in M365 security hardening and standardization. I'm currently planning trips across the country: Texas, Florida, New York, to have conversations around one of my favorite topics: how Identity is the foundation of securing everything, and how without it, AI becomes more of a problem than a solution.

This is what people mean when they say "living the dream."

Outside of work, things aren't slowing down either. This past week, Not Another Tech Podcast hosted by fellow MVP Nate Hutchinson dropped Episode 11: Conditional Access: Some Assembly Required, featuring me and a passion project I've been building around Conditional Access. More importantly, I got to sit down with someone I've genuinely admired in the Identity space and have a real, impactful conversation about the MSP landscape and how the mindset around M365 security is starting to shift.

Then Friday hit.

Microsoft accepted me into the MVP Program for Security:
Identity and Access.

It still feels a little surreal. I keep coming back to the realization that the things I'm writing about, the conversations I'm having, they're resonating. People are listening. I never in a million years thought this would happen, and certainly not this fast.

When I found out, my first thought was, "what do I do? Who do I tell? AHHHHHH."

Then I did the first thing that felt natural. I went straight to the Teams chat with all the M365 Baddies and typed: "Guys. I did a thing." 

Immediately followed by a screenshot of the acceptance. The reaction was honestly amazing. This team is more than a team. They're a family. Graham Morrison, Lewis Barry, Tim Oelkers, Dakota McElligott, Milo Sheppard, Jazzy Khaneja, Cole Kaparos, and Redouan Bulaid are all part of the weapons that hold the technical prowess and conversations around the Microsoft Landscape. 

I especially appreciated fellow MVP Lewis Barry's advice from early on: "Be Genuine." In today's world people need authenticity. He is honestly a very genuine person who tells it exactly how it is from his perspective and I love that. Everyone on this team is special in some way or another. 

I truly hit the jackpot with this ragtag group of bandits and honestly appreciate them helping me day in and day out. In a short period of time we've bonded over the ins and outs of the MSP space and how we're shaping inforcer with our collective experience and M365 knowledge. Like any good family, we joke, we roast, and we meme. It didn't take long before I became the Identity meme of the group. I talk about Entra ID and Conditional Access daily and it's genuinely hard for me to find a
conversation I can't tie back to CA. 

The day after the announcement went live and the MVP site updated, the entire company reached out publicly to congratulate me. From senior leadership to marketing, event planning, and support staff. Everyone. That's what inforcer is. We all care deeply about the product, but more importantly about the impact it has on the MSP customers we serve.

Inforcer is all about team first and that means not only pushing everyone to be better but celebrating together when someone on the team goes above and beyond. We're all obsessed with building the best possible experience for MSPs through a genuinely intuitive interface that changes how admins everywhere see and secure M365 tenants. The MVP was the icing on the cake, confirmation that the conversations I'm having every day are valid, necessary, and making an impact.

The industry is changing. Our job is to help facilitate that change in a meaningful way.

I'm beyond grateful to Nate Hutchinson for the nomination and his support, and equally grateful to my entire M365 family and the crew at inforcer for pushing me, believing in me, and making sure I was putting my best self forward every step of the way.

The journey is just beginning and there's no company I'd rather have alongside me than inforcer.

Meet the author

Jon Hope

Jon Hope

Microsoft 365 Solutions Architect and Microsoft MVP